My cousin's relationship with her boyfriend has become increasingly toxic, and despite my concerns from the beginning, she seems blinded by her feelings for him. Now, I find myself blocked from contacting her, and it feels like we're no longer even family. Despite his repeated wrongdoings, she continues to forgive and forget. I'm deeply worried about her future but feel powerless to help. Even worse he thinks that I have ulterior motives for being close to her, believing I may desire something physical, He's dictating who she can and can't talk to online, insisting she only posts pictures of herself or him, and won't let her mention specific male or female friends, not even for their birthdays. He's even making her delete all her old posts and stories about me from Insta. And this is just a small part of how badly he's treating her.
Despite our religious differences - We are Hindu and he's Muslim - that's not my concern; I'm solely focused on my sister's well-being and future. What steps can I take to ensure she's safe and supported?'

Title says all, I'm a 23m reservist trying to use dating apps and the only decent full body pictures I have of myself as well as group photos are universally me in uniform doing stuff. For those who are also in the military no they are not all "moto" pics, most of them are just me standing around with the boys or in front of cool scenery. Or me looking like I've not slept in 3 days.
I'm pretty introverted so I don't really make a habit out of taking pictures of myself, on top of that all my home hobbies are "nerdy" and digital so I can't really take pictures of myself doing them. Most of my current friends are actually in my unit, but they all live hours away from me so we usually just wait till we are at drill to talk. Because of this only interesting photos I do take are usually involving me doing military things or riding my dirt bikes. Since they are better than me taking a picture of myself at my desk with a blank face and a headset on, I kind of have to use them.
I just feel like the military is stigmatized a lot nowadays, I don't really blame people for it but at the same time I feel like I'm a bad guy when I just needed a job to get me on my feet out of HS. Anyways, I'm curious to see what girls around my age think of it. Thank you for reading.

You can go to my profile for a picture of me!
I am 22 years old and living in Europe. I have West Asian ethnicity. I am studying in university and my major is business and economics as I want to work in the field of accounting. 😊
I am introverted but when I get comfortable with you then I won't stop talking so be prepared! 😆
I am into anime, chess, superheroes, mobile games, talking about random stuff and also going into deep conversations, spending time with friends and family and have my alone time as well. I am a bit of an introvert so I don't expect me to be too much outside. I am mainly in my room and I would therefore like to find a woman I can spend time with and just get to know. I want someone who I can treat right and just make my queen! ☺️
I am into monogamous relationship and I am possessive and can be obsessed over you when I really fall in love. I want to make sure that all of your needs are taken care of. I am also open for calling on the phone when we get more comfortable.
I don't have any requirements and I am very much open for anything as long as you are over 18 and you are ready for something serious and not just to waste mine or yours time. If you want to ghost then please stay away and spare me the time. Be respectful and also a nice person!
Send me a picture of yourself and also a short introduction and I will get to you 😊
Thank you for reading and I wish you a very good day/night and hope you may find your love ❤️

I have been working on a computational biology paper for over 3 years. In my first year of working on it with a postdoc, I found that the model is saturated and it is very difficult to improve the model, I have told my supervisor repeatedly regarding this. However, he still wanted to keep exploring things and because he did not believe in me, he added another PhD student to the project. In this field, independent validation (a test set not used to tune the model at all) is important, so my supervisor created a system where we don’t have labels when we test our models. Also, although we held the test dataset’s label, he tested it on his own repeatedly secretly without my supervisor’s knowledge and he claims that his model is better in a certain aspect compared to my proposed model (it is actually just because he could test himself and parameter tune the model).
In the end, he proposed that we “combine” his model with mine to have a better model in all aspects. When we finalized the model, I found out that his dataset was easier and our validation split was not correlated at all with the test set and he never told this to anyone. I thought there was no reason to combine the model because my model applied to a new dataset also yielded the same performance as his model. I could also parameter-tune my model and get it all done in 10 minutes. So, the ‘combine’ model was not done in good faith and diluted my contribution/credit. I was arguing vocally about combining the model and kept pointing out that the new dataset is easier and different than the old one, so we were not comparing Apple to Apple. To be fair, I was probably too critical, tactless and vocal about this. I was quite mad that he cheated and never told me the new dataset was easier and the validation was not correlated. My supervisor doesn’t know at this point that he cheated. The problem is the Ph.D. student and the postdoc kept saying that the dataset was the same. I tried to prove that the dataset was easier and got similar performance as the combined model on the new dataset easily; however, the postdoc was mad at me because I pretty much proved that the dataset that he generated was wrong and he rushed through finalizing the model with the Ph.D. without debugging the dataset. The PhD student also kept saying the dataset was the same (pretty much lying at this point). My supervisor didn’t believe me because these two people kept saying the dataset was the same and my supervisor kept cutting me off while I kept pointing out that the dataset was different. The postdoc also took my model without my consent and ran away with it with the Ph.D. to finalize the paper.
So, after the model was finalized, I tried to reproduce some of the Ph.D. student results and couldn't. When I said that I couldn’t reproduce some of the results, my supervisor was mad at me even though the Ph.D. student himself could not reproduce the result afterward. I guess he thought that I was the one making things up because the Ph.D. student is actually really hard-working. He pretty much tries everything that is possible (even though he and I know it is going to fail and doesn’t make sense). Then, on one-on-one meeting, I told my supervisor that the Ph.D. student cheated and tested the independent validation on himself multiple times. My supervisor didn’t seem to believe me and excluded me from the project afterward.
After I was excluded, I managed to prove that objectively the dataset is different. The exact same model applies to these datasets yielding two different results and on the new dataset, my old model performs just as well without combining the model. I also managed to propose a better model than the current “combined” model and he did not allow me to submit my model. I also gave a picture proof to my supervisor that the Ph.D. could test on the test set himself. However, the Ph.D. student still insists on submitting his “combined” model despite he added a lot of stuff that is not even working and may get us rejected.
Then when the paper was about to be submitted, I just knew that my second author authorship was turned into a third authorship and the Ph.D. became a cofirst despite I had worked one year earlier than him. I did not write the manuscript because I was excluded - honestly, I thought it was pretty silly to add things that are not working to the paper with the same performance. I don’t know why the manuscript is allowed to be submitted in the first place.
What would be the course of action here? I am not happy that my contribution becomes a third-author contribution especially since the model is pretty much the main contribution of the paper and not the biology. I am lacking in biology, preprocessing data, etc, but we use the same biological features as other papers so they are not novel. I found that I gave away the paper to the Ph.D. for free because he added nonsense to the paper. The papers ultimately get rejected because of his addition (which is not reproducible and does not improve the model in the first place). And he doesn’t allow me to submit my new model. Now, the paper pretty much reverts back to my old model and it was reverted back and submitted behind my back.
My solution is to allow me to submit my new model so that I can get a cofirst but my supervisor does not allow me to submit my model. I am pretty sure this is because the PhD wants it to be the "next version" so that he can be the first first author since it is his real project instead of helping the postdoc on this project. However, I am not keen on the next version since we cannot even improve the current version after 2.5 years of trying and my model was taken away without my consent. My supervisor asked the first first author for me to be the first author but he voted no because the Phd students had taken over and I got excluded so I could not take over. And I feel that the whole fiasco happened because he did not generate the dataset properly, now my authorship got relegated because of he did not do his responsibility well and ran away with my model without my consent. Can I actually vote no or withdraw my model from the paper? Since it is my intellectual property, I feel that I can be a first author using my model on another paper instead of sharing the model as a third author. I honestly want to use the paper & authorship for my Ph.D. application and my PI kept saying that we were going to submit it soon, but he never submits the paper. I feel that I cannot keep delaying my career because of this.
Now it seems that the PhD is the one who lost credibility.. when he presented his ideas, my advisor sort of reminded him that what he proposed did not work and he could even not reproduce his own result.. so I guess I gain back my credibility. What could I have done better? What should I have done better? I need some specific feedbacks. I feel that I need to be more tactful and diplomatic and become better and conflict resolution. On the other hand, the PhD is blattanly dishonest and lying even to my supervisor's face convincingly, so it also contributes to the problem as well. Should I work with the Phd again just to keep the professional relationship? or should I work in another project? I am sometimes afraid his work has too much shenanigans and he cannot even reproduce his own result.
I need some feedback to improve myself!

I’d recently posted after taking pictures of my hair part and back of head a few days ago. Was shocked and dismayed to say the least. Managed to move my existing derm appointment to this morning at a different location. She diagnosed me with what I had suspected I had but hoped I didn’t. Androgenetic alopecia.
She prescribed minoxidil. She said I can start with the 5% topical if I like, but suggested going with oral 2.5% and wrote me a script for that. On the drive home, I felt so incredibly angry. Since October, my life has been falling apart.
It started with me losing my job. I went on unemployment and got a grant to take classes in a different field, which I’ve been doing. Barely scrimping by on what I’m getting on unemployment but at least felt it was temporary and could see a light at the end of the tunnel.
Then, at the end of January, I visited an orthopedic surgeon for what I thought was a pulled groin muscle that wasn’t healing. He ordered an MRI and my world got turned upside down. I have a tumor on my hip bone that is malignant and suspected to be a rare form of cartilage cancer. Awaiting surgery with implant late spring, with a hefty recovery period. Possible radiation to the area will follow, depending on pathology results. I’ll also have to get scans every few months for the next 10 years to make sure it hasn’t spread anywhere else.
Now, I’m fu@ This is just too much. I feel so bitter, like a miserable old crap bag.

So long story short, I 20f can't seem to get over things my bf has said to me a while back. I really love him, we've been together for 3 years now but there are things he's done that I can't seem to forget. I've forgiven him, but now and then I'll remember everything and I find myself distancing myself from him because of it.
In our first year of dating he started messaging other girls on snapchat and even went as far getting one of the girls numbers. He likes girls with coloured eyes would often send me pictures of girls with blue eyes.( I have black eyes). He even went as far as trying to get me to wear coloured contact lenses.
My bf really likes anime and used to often comment on anime girls and their bodies. He mentioned how one specific character has the nicest breasts and proceeded to send me pictures of her in her underwear.... Also alot of these characters he talks about are literal school girls, they have very childlike faces and act like little girls. I don't know if that's a red flag or not.
These are some of the many things he's done. He's seemed to really change this last year and hasn't done anything to hurt me. I really want to forget everything he's done but the more I try to forget the more I think of it.
I've barely been speaking to him the last few days and he's been asking me what's wrong and that me not speaking to him makes him sad. I'm tempted to break up with him and just be single. I know I may seem immature but I don't know how to move on.

• We started with the two federal lawsuits filed last Thursday, seeking to block Iowa from enforcing Senate File 2340, the immigration law that creates a new state crime of “illegal reentry.” You can read the federal government’s lawsuit here and the case filed on behalf of Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice and two individuals here. I have a post in progress at Bleeding Heartland on why the state will struggle to show this law is constitutional;
• One key issue in both lawsuits: Iowa’s law makes no allowance for the reality that the federal government may grant permission for someone to be in this country, even if they were removed or deported in the past;
• Responding to the lawsuit, Governor Kim Reynolds cited her “responsibility to protect the citizens of Iowa. Since President Biden refuses to enforce our nation’s immigrationlaws – threatening the safety of our citizens – Iowa will step in.” Similarly, Attorney General Bird said, “Iowa stands ready to defend our immigration law that keeps Iowa communities safe”;
• I previewed one of the key legal arguments for the state, which Republican legislators put forward during the House and Senate debates. The concept is that the U.S. Constitution allows states to defend themselves against an “invasion,” and GOP politicians claim undocumented immigration amounts to an invasion of this country;
• Contrary to the idea that SF 2340 will keep Iowans safe, Marshalltown Police chief Michael Tupper submitted a declaration for one lawsuit explaining why “it undermines public safety” when the immigrant community believes local police will engage in immigration enforcement;
• Many of the arguments in these cases overlap, and U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Locher has consolidated a hearing on the motions for a preliminary injunction, which is set for June 10;
• Iowa became a plaintiff in yet another lawsuit against the Biden administration last week. This case, involving six GOP-led states that are part of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, challenges the U.S. Department of Education’s latest rule related to Title IX protections for LGBTQ students. Republicans dispute that Title IX’s prohibition of sex discrimination should encompass discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity;
• Bird was spotted on Monday morning outside the criminal court where Donald Trump’s trial continues in Manhattan. The Attorney General’s office hasn’t answered any of my questions about the trip, but a spokesperson told the Des Moines Register’s Brianne Pfannenstiel “no taxpayer money had been used to fund her travel.” Bird spoke briefly to reporters outside the courthouse to call the case a “travesty” designed to keep Trump off the campaign trail;
• George wondered if state political leaders traveling across the country was going to be the “new normal.” I won’t be surprised to see Bird appearing with Trump in other venues this year. She’s been the former president’s top Iowa surrogate since Governor Reynolds endorsed and actively campaigned for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis;
• Moving to legislative news, the governor continues to sign more laws the legislature approved last month. Last week, she signed Senate File 2251, one of the bills she proposed, extending postpartum Medicaid coverage for thousands of Iowa women while excluding thousands of women from pregnancy or postpartum coverage;
• I’ve been wanting to talk about House File 626 for a while, but I don’t think Dennis and I ever got to it during the legislative session. Starting next year, this law will prohibit insurance companies from forcing a change to someone’s prescription medications in the middle of a coverage year, if the patient is stable on the drug and a health care provider continues to prescribe it. I enjoy stories like this, which have a major lobbying component. You might think this bill is not controversial, because it passed both chambers nearly unanimously. But advocates had to work for at least seven years to get it to the Iowa Senate floor, due to strong opposition from the insurance lobby;
• Here’s an update on a bill that particularly affects mothers. Natalie Krebs reported for Iowa Public Radio last week on contracts signed with four groups that will provide services under the “More Options for Maternal Support” (MOMS) program, which funnels taxpayer dollars to crisis pregnancy centers. Senate File 2252, which the governor signed in April, allows the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services to administer this program directly;
• Reynolds signed the remaining appropriations bills last week, which set spending levels for the fiscal year beginning on July 1. On this program I wanted to highlight a couple of big picture points: Reynolds did not use her item veto power at all, which illustrates how Republicans closely coordinate budgeting with the governor’s office these days. They don’t put anything important in appropriations bills without her approval;
• Second, the $8.9 billion state budget for fiscal year 2025 will spend only about 80 percent of projected state revenues. By law, legislators are allowed to allocate up to 99 percent of projected revenue, but Republicans are building huge surpluses into the budget in order to cover future tax cuts;
• The June 4 primary fast approaches, and I wanted to flag the early voting deadlines for listeners. You can vote early in person starting May 15, and county auditors will start mailing out absentee ballots on the same day. Whether you vote early or on the primary election day, remember to bring some form of voter ID with you. If you need to change your address or register for the first time, bring proof of address as well as a valid ID;
• Moving back to state government news, Bird held a press conference on Friday to announce she was creating a new task force on antisemitism. Oddly, her office still hasn’t released a full list of task force members. I was able to confirm over the weekend that none of the three current state legislators who are Jewish were invited to participate;
• On the environmental front, there was good news and bad news connected to the heavy rain Iowa has seen in recent weeks. Jared Strong reported for Iowa Capital Dispatch that “For the first time in nearly two years, no part of Iowa has extreme drought”;
• Now for the bad news: the rain has flushed a lot of nitrate off fields and into Iowa waterways. Strong reported on this problem for Iowa Capital Dispatch as well;
• Excessive levels of nitrate in water has been associated with blue baby syndrome and certain cancers; I recently republished some in-depth reporting by Keith Schneider on the possible link between farm chemicals and high cancer rates in Palo Alto County;
• A quick bit of Congressional news: all four Iowans in the U.S. House helped save House Speaker Mike Johnson’s job last week;
• We didn’t have time to dig in to the details, but researchers from Princeton University have demonstrated that Iowa’s “Education Savings Accounts” (school voucher) program led to tuition increases at many private schools. Stay tuned, because I will have more to say about these findings on the May 20 program.

Hey everyone,
Most of us spend a huge chunk of our time in passive, one-way consumption. SceneXtras changes that. We’re tackling the engagement gap for those of us obsessed with characters and their stories.
We get what makes watching movies and TV special—the emotional bond with the characters.
Other platforms like Character AI and Replika have done some cool stuff with AI chats, but they miss the magic of tying these interactions back to the original stories.
We’re taking things further by focusing on enhancing the viewing experience. Imagine chatting with your favorite characters right while you think if a question before, during and after viewing.
Picture this:

• Asking Anakin from Star Wars to rethink the dark side.
• Getting dating advice from Hitch.
• Solving mysteries with Sherlock Holmes.
• Rap battling with Eminem from 8 Mile.

We’ve started with a Chrome extension, but we will primarily need beta testers for our new web version(mobile only). Your feedback will be key in making this awesome.
We’re a small, passionate team, and we know this can be something amazing with your help.
Demo: https://youtu.be/2z6HnQBjjSA?si=AKN3UlAkojWh4yt8
Join our Discord to get the beta link: https://discord.gg/7AW4QujuM3
Check us out at scenextras.com.

There's one thing I've felt and realised that no matter how many friends we surround ourselves with in real life, there are moments when loneliness can still creep in and take hold. That's when this wonderful world of internet comes in handy, and I guess it's finally the time for me to give this a try.
I'm a 22 year old Indian guy who is currently pursuing his masters degree in Italy. And being in an entirely different country on my own sometimes takes me to that loneliness territory. I'm a 6'1" tall guy (if that matters to you) and I crave those funny & deep conversation that are something more than just being shallow. You know the conversation, where every text makes you more elevated, and you can't help but just cherish that wonderful moment. The conversation flows naturally, and you keep on talking to each other irrespective of the time that has passed.
Love is one of the most exquisite things in this world, and it can hold different meanings for different people. But love for me, is all about care and affection that you show to your partner, that rock-solid assurance that no matter what, you've always got their back. It's when you eagerly anticipate their texts and feel like the luckiest person once it pops on your screen, when their presence, whether online or in person, gives you the reason to start your day with a huge smile. And I've seen my own shares of ups and down in my love life, but that doesn't make me lose any hope, and hopefully I'll soon find my ONE.
A little more about me: I mostly spend my free time analyzing or studying the movies, shows or music. I appreciate this world of entertainment a lot because they are like my escape from this reality. So, if you're the same, then we can nerd over our favorite movies & music. I also like to write about stuff sometimes, mostly about entertainment or some story/thought that popped into my mind.
But recently, I have been reading a lot of true crime stories. So, if you have some recommendations or insights into this genre, then you better hit me up, I'm always open to know more about this.
What am I looking for: I'm looking for a like-minded lady who is around my age (20-24 years old) and shares my passion for meaningful conversations. I'm interested in getting to know someone who enjoys talking about their day, what have they been up to, their dreams, their ambition, basically everything they feel comfortable sharing. If you're looking for a partner who is genuine, respectful, and eager to build a meaningful connection, then let's start talking! We can begin with a conversation on Reddit and if we both feel comfortable enough, let's move to some other platform and see where this takes us.
What can you expect from me: You can expect a genuine and understanding guy who is truly interested in getting to know you. You can also expect a funny and deep conversation, I'm a good listener and enjoy hearing different perspectives, so feel free to share your thoughts and experiences with me.
I can be a bit flirty sometimes if I feel like we have a genuine connection, so I hope you wouldn't mind that. I believe that a little bit of banter and humor can go a long way in building a connection, so don't be surprised if I try to make you laugh or catch your attention with a cheesy joke or two. However, I also respect boundaries and will never push beyond what makes you feel comfortable.
I'm a private person, so I'm NOT much inclined towards sharing pictures right away. I like to make sure that we both have trust and confidence in each other, and once we have established that, then we can definitely exchange photos and more.
Oh damn, I've just realized that this has become a very long post, so if you've read this in its entirety, give yourself a pat on the back. Out of so many things you could have read in this time, you chose to read my paragraph, and I already appreciate you for that. So, if any of these loong lines makes sense to you, please message me, and let's have some great conversation. I'll be waiting, and I hope you have a wonderful day. You deserve that.

When I met her, she and I became friends immediately, she was sweet and nice and she was understanding cause I tend to over share and she actually was there for me, this was 4 years ago. I was in 12th and now we are graduating from the same university.
We were never in the same classes even though we had the same courses, she used to call me to hangout with her in semester 1 and 2, I used to refuse every time and that died down, I met a bunch of good people along the way until semester 4. She and her guy were fighting and she “needed” me as a support, I left everything for her, I spent every day and night talking to her since. She used whine when I made plans with my other friends and unnecessarily bitch about them and when I got uncomfortable, she told me that I was “no fun” anymore, so I dropped them.
She ranted every single day. It was always about her fighting w her ex or her not liking someone, unnecessarily commenting about someone’s body, the way they dressed, everything. I used to feel uncomfortable but didn’t say anything cause she’d somehow make me feel guilty? Made me date her ex’s friend even though I wasn’t into him? And she blamed me for that not working out?
I knew her whole life story? And she’s claiming that I hide things from her but whenever I talk she ends up talking about herself? Up until 1st semester, I was very very insecure about my body and decided to change that, I lost weight and she used to make these very subtle passive aggressive comments sometimes and never once asked about my progress. She was very good at this tho, make me feel special but then asserting unnecessary dominance and trying to compete? The day I cut her off, she used her trick of guilt tripping me and then called right back and started crying and apologising by victimising herself and telling me that I was her longest friend that I couldn’t do that to her and so on.
But I made a list of (few out of all) things that struck out for me as soon as I cut her off:

1. Bitched about my friends and guilt tripped me into isolating myself from them by telling me that I chose them over her even tho I spent most of my time w her
   1. Then tries to “push me towards them(my friends)” after a they tried talking to me and I stopped responding to them because she used to convince me not to? And now she wants me to reconcile with them even tho I told her they were done w me lol
   2. Bitches about every person and acts all sweet and nice to them.
   3. Expects me to be loyal and hate the people she hates (she’s very problematic, in the sense she had problems with everyone who were close to her and made it seem like they were the problem and everyone believed it??) but when I dislike someone to a point it irks me, she tells me that that person helped her a lot. Double standards.
   4. Never accepts faults.
   5. Everything is an act.
   6. The most insecure person I’ve ever met and never told me about their true feelings? (I thought I was insecure until her)
   7. Wants me to just validate her feelings and god forbid I ever give her an advice.
   8. Claims to having done everything for me during our friendship. Being there for me exactly 2 times when I have been with her and for her numerous times over the span of 4 years.
   9. Got into a relationship because she wanted to go on double dates with her former bf and his bf w me, was in a week long relationship and he lost interest and told it to her and she chose to humiliate me when I got drunk and chose to tell me on the day of my first ever concert.
   10. Conveniently chooses what is right or wrong.
   11. Talks about herself 23/7. The one hour in a week is what I talk in total, I am her emotional support dog.
   12. When I confronted her about her not knowing me, she used sarcasm to deflect the situation on to me, making me feel like the crazy one. Never tried to know who I was.
   13. My surname is known to have money, so if a person who is popular and has my surname or doesn’t have it, according to her, they are talking to me only because I have that surname.
   14. Says that she’s happy that I’m not like other girls she mentioned by saying that I’m happy for her for all the things she’s bought or done and the fact that I pay for my share every single time cause I don’t like owing someone money and relates that to herself but in reality, she’s just like the “other girls” she’s mentioned.
   15. I’m not allowed to go out every Saturday like she does but I am allowed to go sometimes, that’s on a very rare occasion and most of the time it’s with cousins and my elder sister.
   16. Went on an international trip w cousins and she constantly told me that she wants to go to the exact same place w her friends, never once asked me for the pictures of my trip just kept whining about how she hasn’t been there?
   17. When she got caught cheating on an exam, her own (former) boyfriend did not go with her to solve it or be there for her, instead I went so that she doesn’t feel bad, didn’t eat my lunch didn’t study for the exam we had in an hour, and she thanked me. When I got caught for the first time recently, she left knowing that our mutual told her that I got caught and when I told her that it was sad that she didn’t even wait for me she gave me reasons and excuses as to why she couldn’t. If I were in her place, she would be fuming rn and would use that against me in a fight. This was the one that pushed me off the cliff to be very honest.
   18. She knows all my weak and trigger points. She loves to use the word “disappointment” whenever I missed one of her rants/fights

It’s been a month (officially) that I stopped talking to her, cut her off completely? And I’ve never felt better? I felt like I used to be in an abusive relationship? But what actually inspired me to write this post and make it public is because she told people things that I confided with her and it triggered me. And thank you to that one Redditor whose stories have resonated with me and helped me get through this.
Thank you for hearing me out and please do give advices on how to effectively not give a shit about her. If any of you want to share your experiences, you’re always welcome.

I seem to have lost understanding of most people.
I see it most oftenly among people my age(21-26). Listening to others, feeding off of those motivational bullshit videos, rich people advice, relationship advice... I see people collect all the knowledge, ideas, information and skills on the planet, yet they do not act. I see people not knowing a thing jump head first, some fail, yet some succeed - Knowledge without experience is merely philosophy; experience without knowledge is ignorance. - Not wary of the preacher most bite into his bullshit. Not knowing the sacred irony of this life that those who preach love do not have love, those who preach peace lack peace and those who preach god... Really need god.
There are sacred ironies and causal relationships that cannot be broken and will persist as cynical clichès until either society crumbles or chatgpt has had enough of my psychotic ramblings and decides to go on a thanos quest to bring peace to the planet.
What I am trying to get at is the fact that a lot of people have completely disregarded themselves and decided to wage war on the only person GENUINELY interested in their well being - their own damn self. "IT's YOU VS YOU" "PAIN IS JUST PAIN" - that type of 'hustle' cope bullshit that the vast majority are consuming so that they do not crumble under their own insecurities.
It is not you vs you, it's you and you versus everything else trying to put you down, manipulate you and toy with you. So just about 95% of the world right now.
The moment you decided to wage a mental war against yourself you're doomed. "YOU NEED CONCRETE EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT YOUR OWN MENTAL PICTURE OF YOURSELF BECAUSE AFFIRMATIONS DO NOT WORK" who said that ? Some rich guy selling a course..? Is he going to give you that concrete evidence? Only for 500$ when the 'actual' value is 500000000000000$?
You don't need a 10pack to feel good, you don't need a lamborghini aventador to feel enough, you don't have to be 6'+ to be granted permission to carry confidence unconcealed, you don't gotta be making 100k USD+ minimum to be granted access to the dating world.
Reality exists in your head. Anything else is just pure copius bullshit.
The only true way to change your life is to change your mind, your identity. That doesn't start with becoming a millionaire.
Jim Rohn has a saying I'll tattoo on my ass one day - “If someone hands you a million dollars, best you become a millionaire, or you won't get to keep the money.” -
Life comes from you it doesnt happen to you, if you're dead inside... Too bad life will suck until you perish. You want a better life? change. Change who you are. Kill who you are.
The quality of your thoughts determine the quality of your life. A thought that has been thought too often, becomes a habbit, a habbit becomes a lifestyle and a lifestyle becomes an identity. Let me provide an example a lot of people are familiar with :
If the 'love' of your life has decided that all of the sudden you dick is too short and that your best friend's is able to 'satisfy' her better... and you're dumb enough to have made her the sole priority of your life.. You wound up thinking about her daily. She's getting dicked down, but you still thinkin abt her, obsessing, being sad, imagining happily ever after scenarios. You wake up sad, you work sad, you go to sleep sad.
This goes on for 1 month, by this time frame it has become a habbit. Your brain produces chemicals associated with that depressive feeling, after a certain time period the body takes over. The same way you're breathing without thinking about it, you'll be thinking about her without thinking about her producing an insurmountable amount of depression proteins. And before long you'll be grumpy, salty and ridden with hatred individual. - If you want a really good explanation of this read "Breaking the habbit of being yourself - by Joe Dispenza"
The thoughts that you think determine your life. IF you can convince yourself that you're the person you want to be and you emotionally experience that event and you hold it in your head long enough, it will happen.
You will change your external surroundings by changing your internal surroundings.
Ok. had to get this out of me. Bye.

I have spent a decent amount of time on various dating apps and have been on many dates over the years. I don’t use them anymore for various reasons but couple of advices here in case someone finds them useful.
A dating app not being able to offer you a date doesn’t say much about you, you viscerally need to start believing that. These platforms are theoretically designed to maximise the number of matches which can keep the platform’s business model up and running.
If you are someone who doesn’t get a lot of matches, trust me, the day you get 50 matches, you won’t know what to do with them. You won’t be able to have one real conversation with an individual and just fidget over all that information overload. Women go through this all the time! She doesn’t know what great things you have going on in your life or how funny you are by looking at your pictures, however great they are, since the 10 guys on your left and on your right will also have some nice pictures.
To get laid or to get a date you need to focus on Activation and Conversion. By activation I mean, maximise the number of matches and by conversion I mean, converting those matches into dates. Conversion is easy: reply fast, be interested, swear not to flirt or talk about sex until you guys meet in person and you know she is very much into you, be or pretend to be confident, and have fun on your first date like you would with your college friend. Never ask her for anything! Not her name, age, how was her day or if she is interested in going out. Just swear to not ask for anything. Just be super interested in them and talk about any random shit you care about. If you guys hit it off, she will tell you her name, address, insta handle, and her bra size. Activation is slightly difficult but try to be very sincere in your bio, experiment with puns, poems, show your artsy side, your dancing skills, avoid group photos and use videos if you can. Here you have to make sure you give out a confident vibe with subtle hints of you having a life. Your photos, your choice of words, your music choices, your dressing sense will all optimize this.
Finally, be more empathetic towards women, try to see them for what they are, standard human beings. Its not a fucking movie and no woman is looking for a kabir singh, they want a normal guy because/if they are normal.
Regardless, dating platforms are taking away the self-respect from men by making them beg, and the personality from women by ensuring they don’t need it.
Bonus tip: Delete your accounts, wait for the next time you are super happy, feeling funny/confident naturally and setup an account then. A likeable you in real life will reflect somehow on your profile too!
Stay proud, happy dating! :)

I can't make up my mind on what paint color to go with for my bedroom. White Dove color for trims and door. I am using eggshell Ben from BM. I also have gray flooring. I am terrible with paint colors because they always look totally different on the wall vs in store + my eyesight is not the best either.... post some or pictures that you guys have done so i get some ideas.